The phrase the Ides of March originates with Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. In the play, a soothsayer has a very famous line to deliver to Caesar. A sooth-sayer is a fortune teller. Act I: Scene II: line 22: Soothsayer: Beware the Ides of March. This line dominates this scene, when Caesar stops his procession to inquire what message the soothsayer is trying to deliver.

The Ides of March refers to March 15 and was the time of the assassination of Julius Caesar, then temporary ruler of Rome. The year was 44 B.C. and Caesar had planned to overthrow the current regime in Rome. This spawned a conspiracy and a plot to stop him. He may have indeed been forewarned about this date.

The assassins wanted to bring back the republic which Caesar was temporarily replacing. However, they succeeded in just the opposite of their intentions. Instead, they helped to bring in a dictatorship under the new emperors.

Different citizens had different feelings about the anniversary of Caesar’s death depending on their political views. Some were horrified that he was murdered.  Some were glad to have him gone. Their feelings depended on whether they were happy with his rule or wished he was not in rule.

This date may have become even more recognizable due to Shakespeare’s play which was first performed around the Ides of March in 1599. This was likely staged to gain notoriety. It appears that this idea worked particularly well.

The Ides of March is so named for its Latin meaning. The Latin roots of Ides mean to divide. There were Ides on the 15th of March, May, July, and October.  The 15th divides a month in half, so it was referred to as the Ides of the month.  This was a deadline for settling debts in these times.

Caesar’s assassination was very famous and remembered on or around the anniversary of his death. We still remember it today, often through the famous line “Beware the Ides of March.”  Though we no longer celebrate the Ides of March, that particular phrase lingers in many people’s minds and has survived to the present day.

It has a negative connotation because of its history and many people associate it with negative happenings. Those negative connotations are expressed to others and other people start to associate negative emotions with this date. Soon a multitude of people are familiar with the phrase, some realizing the background behind it, some not.